Disalignment rate coefficient of argon $2{\mathrm{p}}_8$ due to nitrogen collision

Abstract

Tunable diode laser induced fluorescence (TDLIF) measurements are discussed and quantitatively evaluated for nitrogen admixtures in argon plasma under the influence of a strong magnetic field. TDLIF measurements were used to evaluate light-transport properties in a strongly magnetized optically thick argon/nitrogen plasma under different pressure conditions. Therefore, a coupled system of rate balance equations was constructed to describe laser pumping of individual magnetic sub-levels of $2{\mathrm{p}}_8$ state through frequency-separated sub-transitions originating from $1{\mathrm{s}}_4$ magnetic sub-levels. The density distribution (alignment) of $2{\mathrm{p}}_8$ multiplet was described by balancing laser pumping with losses including radiative decay, transfer of excitation between the neighboring sub-levels in the $2{\mathrm{p}}_8$ multiplet driven by neutral collisions (argon and nitrogen) and quenching due to electron and neutral collisions. Resulting $2{\mathrm{p}}_8$ magnetic sub-level densities were then used to model polarization dependent fluorescence, considering self-absorption, which could be directly compared with polarization-resolved TDLIF measurements. This enables to estimate the disalignment rate constant for the $2{\mathrm{p}}_8$ state due to collisions by molecular nitrogen. A comparison to molecular theory description is given providing satisfactory agreement. The presented measurement method and model can help to describe optical emission of argon and argon-nitrogen admixtures in magnetized conditions and provides a basis for further description of optical emission spectra in magnetized plasmas.

15 pages , 8 figures